Leah Frederick takes target practice at First Strike Indoor Range in Newbury Township. There were a record amount of CCW permits issued in Ohio in 2013.

For the second straight year, county sheriff offices in Ohio issued a record number of concealed carry handgun licenses.
Sheriffs issued 96,972 new licenses statewide last year and 48,370 renewals, or 145,342 total concealed carry licenses. These numbers topped previous highs of 64,650 new licenses and 76,810 total licenses issued in 2012, according to statistics collected and reported by the Ohio Attorney General’s Office.
Both Lake and Geauga counties, with 5,000 and 2,212 respectively, also issued record numbers of new licenses in 2013. Since permits began being issued in 2004, the previous annual high in Lake was 3,175 in 2012. Geauga’s previous high of 1,590 occurred in 2004, the first year the licenses were issued.
Both counties also had record highs of license renewals, with 1,289 in Lake and 1,537 in Geauga, surpassing previous renewal highs of 740 and 1086, respectively, both in 2008.
Geauga County Sheriff Daniel McClelland attributed at least part of the high renewal numbers simply to timing.
When the law was first enacted, licenses lasted for four years, meaning all people who obtained their licenses in the first year available in 2004 needed to renew in 2008. But in 2007, the license expiration period was changed to five years, meaning the large number of renewals in 2008 would expire in 2013, the sheriff explained.
Additionally, as allowed by law, residents can obtain their permit from any adjacent county to where they live. In Geauga, that includes Lake, Cuyahoga, Ashtabula, Portage, Trumbull and Summit counties. Furthermore, the Geauga Sheriff’s Office issues licenses on a first-come-first-serve basis as opposed to needing to schedule an appointment, said McClelland.
Blake Frederick, owner of First Strike Sports in Newbury Township and Sherwin Shooting Sports in Eastlake, said all of the monthly concealed carry permit classes were full last year at the Eastlake location, with a limit of 23 people per class.
Ohio’s CCW law requires a minimum of 10 hours of class time and two hours on the range, which is split into two six-hour sessions at Frederick’s businesses.
“One of the reasons our class is popular is that we also have an attorney come in to speak to our students,” he said. “They put on about a 45-minute discussion on how the concealed carry law is enforced in the state of Ohio.”
In his experience, Frederick has seen a large increase brand new shooters obtaining permits.
“Now, that’s probably the majority of our classes,” he said, adding that students new to shooting are required at his ranges to take a “Learn to Shoot” class before going through the CCW class, since the CCW class focuses more on the non-shooting aspects of owning having a weapon. “It’s really about teaching you the law, teaching you the fundamentals of safety, teaching you pistol handling, but it’s not teaching you to be a better shot.”
Frederick also has seen many more women and younger people, particularly in their 20s, become interested in firearms.
“Even my generation, I’m 50, wasn’t that big into it,” he said. “You have the older Baby Boomers who were very big into competitive shooting, hunting, you name it, but then it skipped several generations.”
This influx of younger gun owners is pushing the gun industry in a new direction, said Frederick.
“Revolvers are not that popular today,” he said. “If you’re 65 or older, that’s probably what you spent the majority of your life shooting.”
Now people seem to want smaller, more “high-tech” guns, he said.
Ryan Ebbert of Eastlake is one of these younger CCW permit holders. He has had his license for about two years.
“My main concern was, obviously especially with the economy, crime is everywhere nowadays. In suburbs, big cities, basically wherever you go in your daily routine, you never know when you’re gong to be in a situation when you’re life’s going to be in danger or someone else is going to do whatever it takes to get whatever they want,” said Ebbert.
While he enjoys having this option, Ebbert said he has not had to use his weapon yet.
“And personally, I don’t expect to have to use it. But I also don’t expect for my kitchen to start on fire, but I have a fire extinguisher in my house,” he said. “I didn’t get it to be a hero or look for situations that are going to get me in trouble. It’s basically just I’m ready at all times in case someone is going to want to harm my life.”
While much research exists to support both sides of the argument on whether or not increased concealed carry permits reduces violent crime, Ebbert said criminals are now “thinking twice” about committing a crime because their potential victim may be armed.
“No sane person wants to have a gun in their face,” he said.
McClelland added that while the number of licenses may be up, that does not necessarily mean more people are out walking around with weapons.
“I have talked to a number of people who said that they went, they took the class, they went through the steps, they obtained a permit, but they have yet to carry,” he said. “They just like the fact that it’s an option should they choose.”
Furthermore, he said his department has had “very, very minimal” issues with concealed carry permit holders.
“From a personal standpoint, I do not have a problem with law abiding citizens having access to firearms,” McClelland said. “They’re not the ones that we typically worry about.”

Advertisement

About the Author

Matt is the breaking news editor at The News-Herald. He tweets @MattNewsHerald. Send him a tip there or to mskrajner@news-herald.com. Fan of sports, TV, rock music and video games. Buckeye alum. O-H! Reach the author at mskrajner@news-herald.com
or follow Matt on Twitter: @MattNewsHerald.